Nate is home!

Nate was able to come home last night after 61 days in the hospital. Next Monday, September 29 he will check back into the hospital as an outpatient where he will be sedated and have a bone marrow aspiration done. We will get the results either the following Wednesday or Thursday and it will tell us how well the first round of chemotherapy worked. He will then be scheduled to be readmitted to the hospital for the second round of chemotherapy. The time frame on this will depend on his overall health. His liver is still inflamed and he needs to put on more weight and generally be more healthy before chemotherapy. His hope is that he will be able to be out of the hospital for his sister Jocelyn's wedding on the 18th. The photo below is of Nate and Jocelyn at one of Nate's games last year.

We know Nate is here with us today because of everyone's faith and prayers. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

September 18th

Nate's health continues to improve. His kidneys are functioning again, so he no longer needs dialysis. Nate is sitting up more and starting to walk again. He can receive visitors and loves when his friends stop by. Thank you to all who have tried to help Nate eat more, he is starting to gain weight because of your efforts and we are so grateful for your generosity. The doctor is hoping to get Nate well enough to go home for a week or two before starting his second round of chemo, which both he and his family are really excited about.

Good News & A Call for Food :)

Good News #1: Nate is out of the ICU and back in PEDS! The medical staff is happy to see Nate, and Nate is happy to see them.
Good News #2: Nate is playing video games again! This is good for both morale and finger mobility. Please feel free to stop by and challenge Nate to some Tony Hawk.
Good News #3: Nate hasn't had to have dialysis for a few days! This is great because it means that his kidneys are functioning better.
Good News #4: Nate is eating again! His current favorites are Trader Joe's black licorice, peanut M&Ms, Twix, homemade white bread and candy Runts. The doctors really want him to consume a lot of protein and N8 ate almost 4 oz. of beef yesterday. He is back to drinking milk. Also he's allowed to have fresh fruits and veggies now, so Nate is downing as many strawberries as he can get.
Here comes the call for food: It is important to the doctors to get Nate walking and packing on weight before his next round of chemo. So if there is anything you can think of to bring or send to encourage Nate to eat, please do so. We're looking for some culinary/dietary inspiration.
Thank you for your faith, love and prayers. Our family is so grateful for the way our friends have sustained us and we know that Nate's improvement has been a group effort.

Update from Jocelyn: September 10

I got to go home to CA last weekend to visit Nate and it was so good to see that he's doing better everyday. I was with him when they took his breathing tube off because he was doing so well on his own. He hasn't moved back up to peds yet because it has been full, but we're hoping that something opens up today. The staff in peds was fantastic to work with and they love Nate so that's where he'd like to be. Right now Nate is working with physical and occupational therapists to stretch and strengthen his muscles and is doing a great job. Another piece of good news is that Nate's appetite is coming back, carbs seem to be his favorite in the form of spaghetti and white bread. We'll post another update soon. Thanks for everything!

Another step in the right direction

Just a quick update but Nate is set to move out of the ICU today and back upstairs to the pediatric floor. His need for oxygen has ceased and his kidney function is coming back so he doesn't need as much dialysis as before. He should be able to start having visitors soon, we'll let you know when. Lastly, we are awaiting the results on his white blood cell count to ascertain how the first round of chemo went. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, please keep them coming.

Quick Update

Nate is doing better each day. 3 weeks ago it seemed like for every piece of good news there was 4 pieces of bad news to go along with it. Now it is the opposite. He is making progress and we hope that he will be getting out of the ICU in the coming week and back up on the pediatric floor where he can start having visitors as that is always a help in raising his spirits. Last night was Nate's football teams first game I know that he wishes he was out there with his teammates of Canyon High. Speaking of Canyon, there was a blood drive in his name last week and there were over 500 individuals that donated blood with more turned away due to capacity. We appreciate the love and help. Nate has needed a lot of blood these last few weeks and your help is appreciated. I will post and let people know when Nate is able to receive visitors.

Nate's Senior Photos: Thank You O'Conner Photography!

A special thank you to Mike O'Conner, Dan Hamrick, Linda Johnson and all the staff at O'Conner Photography for coming to the hospital to take Nate's senior pictures. Most of all thank you for your generosity, love and concern.